Gone with the Desert
by meangreenie
Summary: Although it is hard to believe, the powerful dark lord known as Ganondorf wasn't always evil. There was a time in his youth when he aspired only to lead the Gerudo to greatness and along the way he fell in love. And it ultimately became his undoing.
1. The Birth of a King

**Chapter One: The Birth of a King**

Nightfall's darkness had long ago blanketed the desert when a young Gerudo named, Nona, was awakened by an agonizing pain stabbing at her swollen abdomen. The sudden, but expected labor pains were unbearable, but the desert Amazon would have no choice other than to endure them till her child emerged from her bowels.

"Looks like we made it just in time," a crackly voice announced.

Frightened, she struggled upright and swiveled her head around room to find the speaker.

"Oh yes, our timing is nearly perfect," another ghastly voice crooned.

"Who are you?!" Nona demanded in a groan, her arms coiling around her round stomach as another contraction stirred.

"What are you!" she shouted in agony.

"What do you mean _what_ are we?" replied one rather testily.

"Please, Koume," the other calmly articulated, "the girl just doesn't recognize us. An honest mistake."

"Ko-Koume?" Nona stuttered, her arms coiling around her round stomach. "Then you must be—"

She was cut off as two pairs of large, round eyes suddenly appeared, and for a moment's time they bobbed eerily in the beams of moonlight slicing through the straw roof before bodies claimed them. The bearers of the eyes were big-headed twin witches identical to the very last wrinkle. Their short bodies were draped in black, wide-sleeved robes and both wore matching black headbands each dripping a large gemstone onto their crinkled foreheads. Kotake's an icy sapphire and Koume's a fiery ruby.

"Please don't kill me!" she pleaded.

"Don't be silly," Kotake cooed, shuffling to the girl's bedside.

"Th-then what to you want?" she stuttered, her entire body trembling.

"**YOUR CHILD!**" Koume cackled from the front of the bed, her grey hair igniting.

"Stop that!" Kotake hissed as icy mist sprayed from her palm aimed at her twin's head to douse the flames. "We don't want to frighten the girl!"

"My . . . my baby?" Nona muttered.

"Now, now," Kotake said softly to masquerade her true intentions, "you have nothing to fear for we have come to help you."

"Yes, yes," Koume whispered, "we come to help."

Nona cringed as another contraction wrenched at her insides and popped tender muscles to create a canal for her child. Both twitches grinned with delight as their master's arrival neared, but their excitement fizzled away as the suffering faded from Nona's face.

"Help me?" Nona whimpered. "I don't need your kind of help."

"You don't trust us?" Kotake gasped, covering her soggy lips with a withered, green hand.

"How hurtful!" Koume cried, mimicking her sister.

"No, no," Nona spluttered. "I-I meant I need a midwife's help nah-now."

"Foolish girl," Kotake smiled, revealing her stained, crooked teeth, "have you forgotten we are witches?"

"Yes, yes," Koume squealed. "We can magically make the pain go away, something not even the most experienced midwife can do."

"Cah-can you really?" Nona panted, then cringed as another contraction took place.

"Of course, of course," Kotake and Koume said in unison, the same hungry look in their bug eyes. "All you have to do is promise us your child," they said far too sweetly.

"No. I can't do that," Nona grunted.

The twins exchanged sly looks, and then hauntingly glance back to the young Gerudo.

"Then you give us no choice," Kotake said pitifully.

**BUT TO KILL YOU!**" Koume crackled, then flung herself forward to latch her boney into Nona's forehead. Once her catty nails were embedded, a fiery red lightning sprung out of her palm and sparked all over Nona's body.  
Nona's screaming echoed throughout the entire desert, and her cries of anguish were soon joined with an infant's wailing.

The ruckus alarmed the guard making her rounds just outside the adobe. With spear firmly in hand, she rushed through the beaded doorway and immediately she halted in her tracks.

A motionless Nona laid sprawled in her bed, smoke rising from the black pit stamped on her forehead. Her legs and bed were drenched in blood, a sign she had given birth . . . but where was the dead mother's child?


	2. Unwanted

**.::Unwanted::.**

"I heard his name is Ganondorf," yawned a young Gerudo guard named Deidra to her friend as they drowsily crept their way up the steep hill leading to the archery range in the darkness of the early morning. "And Nabooru," she cooed in a singsong voice, "I hear he's absolutely gorgeous."

"For all we know, he may have the snout of a pig," Nabooru scoffed, then playfully flicked Deidra's nose.

"You're just bitter!" Deidra hissed, playfully snapping her teeth at Nabooru's fingers.

"So what if I am bitter?" she snapped. "I have a damn good reason to be! All my life I've worked my way up the ranks only to have some _man_ with a birthright steal it right beneath my feet! I might as well be a mere subordinate again. Do you know how frustrating that is?!"

Deidra frowned as her eyes fell to examine her own purple garb, the uniform of a _mere _subordinate. She didn't dawn one of the seven uniquely colored uniforms the seven rogues wore.

Uniforms bared little to no difference at all other than color. Rogues wore the same style; a snug halter top, the afghan pants, upturned-tipped slippers.. Nabooru wore a cerise rogue uniform, but Deidra always found herself admiring Nabooru's elaborate accessories that distinguished her as not only a rogue, but the rogue guru. A beaded belt fashioned with enormous, rare desert pearls and deadly, sharp dodongo canines and talons gripped her hips just beneath her the soft, muscular ripples of her stomach. The finely crafted bronze choker dripped a gigantic ruby that rested perfectly in her cleavage. Two bronze bracelets securely cradling oval rubies hugged both her upper arms and even the hairclip holding her fiery, red hair was bronze, but it lacked rubies. It was high-honored tradition for the rogue guru to wear them, to denote her superiority. At seventeen, Nabooru was the youngest to ever dawn the honor.

"I didn't mean it like that," Nabooru quickly explained.

"I know, I know," Deidra smiled, quickly perking up, "but you really shouldn't say such things about our new king."

"Why?" Nabooru squawked, quickening her pace.

"Why? Why?!" Deidra cried after her. "What if _they_ heard you speak of him like that?"

"Who? Twinro―"

Deidra quickly slammed her hand against Nabooru's mouth. "You shouldn't speak of them so openly," she chided.

Nabooru angrily removed Deidra's hand, then vigorously continued up the path.

"They would consider it blasphemous . . . treason even!" Deidra rambled on. "And Nabooru," she whimpered, "they wouldn't just punish you. You know that."

Nabooru came to an abrupt pause, scratching her shoe against the gravel, then slowly she glanced back over her shoulder to Deidra who returned the look with scolding eyes.

Finally, Nabooru broke as she gave a heavy sigh.

"I know, I know," she sighed, "it's just so frustrating."

"What would you do without me?" Deidra smirked, catching up to her.

Though Nabooru was far too proud to admit it, she needed Deidra in more ways than just companionship.

"Yeah, yeah," she replied with a bashful grin, then coolly strode past Deidra and onto the vacant grounds.

Sprawled before her was a track lined by wooden circular targets ranging from several different sizes embedded on the shallow canyon's rocky walls. Other targets were hoisted up by massive hickory posts. Set aside in the center of the winding track was a small stable where shrill whinnies could be heard and beside it was a shabby, little shed stuffed with numerous items used for training.

Nabooru deeply inhaled the brisk air to the point it stung her nostrils, then exhaled in a dreamy sigh. It was here she felt most at peace and actually happy. It was here she could was free to exert herself and test her abilities to their fullest.

"Let's make this quick, okay?" Deidra said, striding past her towards the stable. "We have dress rehearsal, remember?"

Instantly Nabooru's face grimaced at the thought of prancing stupidly around especially for _his_ amusement.

"I'll nab us a horse while you go get your gear," Deidra offered, then disappeared into the stable.

Nabooru smiled as the excited whinnies exploded from the stable once the horses' beloved Deidra entered. Horse whispering was in her blood, so it came to no surprise that Deidra had a remarkable talent for horses even at the young age of six. In fact, she had been "bestowed" the duty of raising the king a handsome steed when she was only thirteen and that was three years ago.

Deidra wandered through the narrow walkway of the sable, thoughtlessly stroking every muzzle shoved at her along the way, her eyes were focused on the last stall. It was there the first horse she had ever raised once resided, but he had been taken to Ganondorf residing at the temple as a birthday present a month ago. She found herself standing in front of the stall, dazedly gazing into the empty space until her ponytail was snagged painfully back.

"Ouch!" she moaned, nearly tumbling to the ground. "Tula! How many times have I told you not to do that?"

The cherry-brown mare cocked her head at her owner, amusement sparking in her dark brown eyes.

"Yeah, I guess I did need it though . . ." she sighed, unfastening the gate of Tula's stable. "It's just . . . the way Nabooru talks about King Ganondorf, I'm just worried he won't treat the stallion right," she explained, fastening a saddle onto Tula's abdomen.

Tula gave a gruff, guttural noise of agitation in response.

"We had better hurry," Deidra murmured, mounting Tula in one magnificent swoop.

Nabooru was already outside holding her bow and with her quiver strapped across her back.

"Took you long enough," Nabooru teased as she mounted the saddle, her back against Deidra. "You are so lucky you're the best rider in the whole tribe, or I would've replaced you a long time ago."

"Yeah right," Deidra scoffed. "Who else could tolerate you, but me?"

Nabooru shook with heavy laughter as she armed her bow. It was so funny because it was so true.

Dual-horseback was a combat style developed hundreds and hundreds of years ago that is still used during nightly raids on cargo along Hyrule field roads. Only three pairings make up the brigade because it takes not only a skilled archer, but an expert rider as well.

"On you signal," Nabooru said in a low voice.

Deidra nodded, and a hush silence fell over them.

With a grunt, Deidra kicked into Tula's side and the mare instantly charged off. Nabooru quickly raised her bow, then released as they shot past the raised target. The arrow zoomed through the air, pierced the target directly in the blood-red center. The smug smirk appeared on Nabooru's face as she rapidly reloaded.

It was going to be a good practice.

"I'm leaving," Deidra cried as she exited the stable, her voice echoing in the canyon.

"Wait! Wait!" Nabooru shouted back. "I'll be right there!"

Then, in one graceful swooping motion, Nabooru aimed her long bow towards the sun just barely peeking itself over the horizon and released. Her bowstring gave a shallow plunk as it propelled the arrow forward and continued to twitter long after the arrow took to the sky. Slowly she lowered her bow as she fiercely watched her arrow vanish into the rising sun, its fish scale fletching glinting magically in the dawning light.

"Damn him," she muttered, then sharply spun on her heel to take her leave.

Still miles away from his destination, Ganondorf sat outside his makeshift tent to pleasurably watch the sunrise while sipping carelessly on his canteen. All of the sudden a shrill, whirring noise broke the silence of the dawn and before he knew it a long, narrow arrow abruptly stabbed into the sand right beside him, splashing tiny beads onto his lap.

Ganondorf flinched and his midnight black stallion reared, its powerful front legs thrusting violently in the air.

"Easy, easy," he gently chided, tugging on the beast's reins. Once his steed was settled, Ganondorf's attention returned to the arrow.

It had come from the west; the direction he was headed.

With relative ease he plucked it out of the sand and was surprised to find it almost weightless. As he ran his hand over the shaft, he felt an unevenness of the wood. He assumed it was just shoddy workmanship, but with closer examination he spied the nearly invisible swirls painstakingly carved by a skilled hand. He assumed it had something to do with the arrow's aerodynamics, but he didn't think much of it, he was more concerned as to where it had come from.

"Why from the west?" he whispered, casting his head back. The closest thing westward was his destination, Gerudo Fortress. "Jasper," he said to his horse, "do you think this is an omen?"

The black stallion's crimson eyes stared blankly at his master.

"I didn't ask to be their king," he murmured, lowering his head. With little effort a small violet flame ignited in his hand, instantly smoldering the arrow into a pile of ashes before him.


End file.
